AIM: To study the function of N-copine on cell level by investigating the effect of N-copine antisense on the cultured cortical neuron of mouse embryos. METHODS: Neuronal cultures were prepared from cerebral cortices of 16-day old mouse (BALB/C) embryos. N-copine expression was blocked by using antisense oligonucleotides. The effect of inhibition of N-copine expression on the cultured neuronal viability and development was observed. RESULTS: With oligonucleotides treatment for 72 h, the length of neuronal a...